Sweet Salon, nestled on Bacon Street in Ocean Beach, lives up to its name and its motto: “Look, Feel, Be … Sweet.” What makes a hair salon so sweet? A fundraising event to be held Saturday, July 25 for children who have cancer. “About a year ago, we changed the name of the salon to Sweet,” said salon owner Eric Legerton. “And the ‘Be Sweet’ part is the charity part.” Themed “A Starry Summer Night,” the event will benefit Camp Reach for the Sky (CR4TS), an American Cancer Society program that provides a week of outdoor fun and activities for children who have cancer. The San Diego-based organization, founded in 1983, gives children with cancer a chance to just be kids and get away from their worries for a bit while enjoying swimming, canoeing, hiking and campfires under the stars in the Cuyamaca Mountains. CR4TS also hosts a camp for siblings of children with cancer, giving them the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings with each other in a fun, safe environment. A third week of day camp is offered for children too young to attend overnight camp. Sweet Salon stylist Gea McAnear suggested CR4TS as the recipient of the salon’s first charity event because she is a volunteer at the camp. “When I was a kid, my sister was diagnosed with leukemia,” McAnear said. “I would have gone to the camp had it been around then. It means a lot to me.” Legerton said the salon’s staff is enthused about the event and will participate, even offering their professional services as raffle prizes. The salon itself has a good feel upon entering. While some hair salons gear themselves to one specific clientele, Sweet Salon prides itself on being the neighborhood salon where everyone is welcome. Staff members strive to immediately put customers at ease. Legerton said the staff offer their clients consistent, quality services in a comfortable, nurturing environment. Ever the entrepreneur, Legerton recently created a high-quality — yet reasonably priced —Sweet product line based on clientele and staff feedback. “The ‘Look and Feel Sweet’ part is getting your hair done and feeling good about yourself,” Legerton said. “We want to always go beyond people’s expectations.” The feel-good attitude appears contagious based on the impressive list of neighboring businesses eager to participate in the fundraising event, including the Vine Wine Bar and Café, which is donating the food for the event; The Blue Parrot; Nati’s; OB Surf Camp; Hodad’s and the Black Bead, among others. There is a $10 cash donation at the door and all proceeds from auction items and raffles go directly to Camp Reach for the Sky. The event runs from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and features live soul music by Zosia, a fashion show with Design by Nydia Fierro and Jennafer Grace, a “sweet” DJ and a raffle and silent auction of a variety of items from local sponsors. “In this time of economic decline, we want to be sure that CR4TS continues to make a difference in these children’s lives,” McAnear said. Sweet Salon is located at 1855 Bacon St. For more information, call (619) 758-1823, or visit www.sweetsalon.com and www.cr4ts.org.